Court rules to recover Rub 1,3 mln from Baturin on Sochi adm suit

This sum is the payment for the lease of a land plot in a sanatorium in Adler

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MOSCOW, April 9 (Itar-Tass) — The Kuntsevo District Court of Moscow on Monday ruled to recover more than 1.3 million roubles from the arrested businessman, Viktor Baturin, on a lawsuit of the Sochi City Administration, Itar-Tass reports from the courtroom.

This sum is the payment for the lease of a land plot in a sanatorium in Adler. The lawsuit of the Sochi administration claims that Baturin had occupied the land in 2008-2010, but did not pay the rent.

The judge considered the claim in the absence of the parties: the administration of Sochi sent a statement saying that it would not participate in the proceedings. Baturin also was notified of the suit, but did not send his representatives to court.

Baturin is currently charged with two counts of attempted fraud and large-scale fraud. He was arrested on November 30, 2011, on charges of fraud with promissory notes of the INTECO company worth 10.8 million roubles. Later, an expert examination confirmed the authenticity of one of the three promissory notes.

Baturin has pleaded not guilty. He stated that INTECO Vice President Oleg Soloshchansky is trying to defame him, indicating that it is basically impossible to counterfeit promissory notes of the company, since each of them is available in a single copy. “This promissory note was a kind of a receipt with which I came to INTECO to get the debt,” the businessman said. “I am the victim and thieved.”

The businessman already has one outstanding conviction. In June 2011, the Presnensky Court of Moscow gave him a suspended sentence of three years, recognising him guilty of a real estate fraud. Earlier, the investigation had terminated another criminal case in which the businessman was suspected of 23 million-rouble tax evasion.